Last month I told you about the weather conditions that we
encountered on our trip down to Athens, Georgia. I also promised to
tell about the crazy things that happened. So here we go....

As you know, we had 2 1/2 days of torrential rain. It was during
this time that my cell phone got wet and went kaput (of course it was
the only item not in a plastic zip bag). No problem I thought, when
I get to Athens I will head to the nearest Sprint/Nextel store and get
it replaced. Right. The listing in the local yellow pages of the Nextel
store location was wrong (the store moved). Once the guy finished chit-chatting
with the 2 southern belles ahead of me, I bought a battery (I had left
the phone behind) and hoped for the best. No luck. I returned the next
day only to find a sign on the door that said "back in 5".
I waited. And waited. Apparently, the "be back in 5" is wide
open for interpretation. 5 minutes. 5 hours. 5 days. 5 months. The south
is really laid back. The phone was finally replaced once I returned
to Jersey.

In
Tennessee while visiting with Pat's friends Kerry and Maryann, a T-storm
came through the area with very heavy rain, gusty winds and lots of
lightening. We were in the house (actually sheltered from the storm
as opposed to riding in it) and waited for it to pass before we left
for the hotel (there's a first). Kerry and Maryann's home is in a fairly
rural area (no street lights etc.). So when we left (van leading a few
bikes then the truck & trailer) we were stopped by a tree that had
fallen across the road. While Pat went to go get Kerry,

Laura
(who waits for no one), ordered the bikes to turn around to go the other
way back to the main road. Well, we finally made our way back, but only
after riding in the pitch black night and (thanks to a good sense of
direction) taking the right roads! I was sure we would end up in the
next state. Those country roads are not so quaint at night.

In
Kentucky, we stopped for lunch in the town of Jenkins. Unfortunately,
the cafe was closing and the police (who were there for some incident)
directed us to a place down the road that was "biker friendly".
OK...We ended up at a place called " King and Alice's". Painted
in two colors, orange and black, and looking
like it had seen much better days, we parked our bikes in the gravel
lot wondering what waited for us inside.

Not only did we enjoy a nice lunch, but we were also honored
by the presence of "The King" himself, aka Carl Adkinson.We
were entertained with his stories (when you could understand him), received
a copy of two songs about him (on one song he claims to be playing the
banjo) and had a great time!

We also met his daughter and granddaughter (who brought her
pink helmet) as well as had our picture taken with him outside the palace.
By the time you read this, I will have sent him a Spokes-Women t-shirt
as well as a framed picture of the group of us while we were there.
What a blast!

Both Laura and Barbara had the distinct pleasure of rubbing
elbows with convicts. Barbara, who was waiting in the shack of the local
recycling center for a tow truck for her bike (another story) was having
coffee and chit-chatting with the two workers. One of the workers, a
young man, had on a black/white striped shirt with the name of the county
jail. Barbara assumed it was just a "fashion" statement shirt
that most young people wear these days. Ha! Turns out he was doing his
community service for some crime.

Laura, on the other hand, was stopped on the side of the road
with a few of us, waiting for the rest of our group to catch up. The
local sheriff pulled up (in his minivan) and asked Laura if everything
was OK. She told him we were just waiting and asked the sheriff if he
could turn around and find the others (at this time, I am behind the
van and notice a pair of hands handcuffed and holding this huge sandwich
in the back seat). The sheriff mumbled something to Laura and left (the
cuffed pair of hands waved goodbye). Laura didn't realize (and she NEVER
misses anything) that the sheriff was transporting a convict and couldn't
help out!

Well, that is all for now! Read some of the other articles
members have written. They are just as interesting. Have a great month!